Kōsa
Kōsa, also known as Hongan-ji Kennyo, was the 11th abbot of the Buddhist temple and Ikkō-ikki fortress of Ishiyami Hongan-ji during the late Sengoku period. Kosa allied himself with several powerful clans, being a former ally of warlord Takeda Shingen and later his son Takeda Katsuyori, as well as the Mori clan, with their powerful navy. Kosa also constructed defenses around Ishiyama Hongan-ji, including a series of stone walls and over 50 watchtowers stationed with arquebusiers and archers, as well as a series of tripwires and clay pots intended to break the ankles of horses. Kosa also took advantage of Ishiyama's location, on top of a steep hill with its back to the ocean. In 1570, Oda Nobunaga laid seige to Ishiyama Hongan-ji, his initial assault consisting of 30,000 men, who he sent to construct fortified staging areas around Ishiyama. These force were ambushed by 3000 Ikkō-ikki arquebusiers in a midnight attack which repulsed Oda's armies and destroyed their staging areas. For the first few years, Oda focused on attacking the Ikki's allies and attempting to starve Kosa into submission. This would have probably been successful- Kosa was already considering peaceful negotiations with Oda by 1575. This was changed, however, when ousted shogun and enemy of Oda's Ashikaga Yoshiaki convinced Mori Terumoto and the powerful Mori clan navy to supply Ishiyama by sea. In 1576, Oda sent 3000 men to attack the fortress. These forces were defeated by 15,000 Ikkō-ikki defenders, including arquebusiers, defending 51 outposts around the fortress. With his failure attacking the primary fortress, Oda targeted the outposts and and army under Toyotomi Hideyoshi took one at Negoroji. Battle vs Hugh Dubh O'Niell (by SPARTAN 119) Kennyo: x 100, five artillery Hugh: x 100, five artillery It had been a few months since Hugh Dubh O'Niell and his men had been swallowed by a mysterious storm-like phenomenon. It was not clear what happened, but somehow, they were on the other side of the world, and stranger still, 100 years in the past. After a few months, Hugh worked out a deal with the local leader, a man named Oda Nobunaga, a Portuguese missionary who spoke Spanish acting as an interpreter- Hugh spoke Spanish, Dutch, and English from his times in the Spanish Netherlands, while the missionary spoke Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. Hugh had worked out a deal with the warlord Oda Nobunaga, use his cannons to support him in a particularly troublesome siege, some place called Ishiyama Hongan-ji, and he would pay him enough to buy a ship to make the long journey back to Ireland. Then, if this was really 100 years in the past, perhaps he could prevent the Cromwellian conquest from ever happening... Currently, Hugh and his men were position behind portable musket shields and hastily constructed siege positions made from logs and piled earth. In total, there were about 50 pikemen, 50 musketeers, and five cannon. Suddenly, a thunderous roar and a flash of fire came from an Ikko-Ikki outpost about 300 yards away from the Irish siege position About ten of his men were cut down in a hail of musket fire. At the same time, several swivel guns on the walls the outpost opened fire on Hugh's men, about another ten casualties resulted from the barrage, including the entire crew one of Hugh's cannon. The carriage of the gun was also struck and collapsed, rendering the cannon useless. "We're under attack!", several of Hugh's men yelled. "Stand firm, fire roundshot at the enemy outpost. Aim for the swivel guns!", Hugh ordered to his men. The five cannon, all of which were already loaded with requisite ammunition fired. A dozen ten-pound balls of cast iron slammed into the walls of the outpost, splintering the wooden palisades and blowing through the men behind them. Three of the swivel guns were knocked out, and over twenty Ikko-ikki rebels were killed by the balls themselves, as well as splinters flying at deadly speeds. While a few dozen of their men were dead, the Ikko-Ikki under Kosa did not give up. From the fortress, their troops advanced, the ikki musketeers forming a line between their yari-wielding comrades. Kosa's musketeers were about 100 meters away as they took aim with their tanegashima muskets and fired a volley Hugh's troops. The volley cut down another fifteen men, including two of the Irish artillery crews, caught in the middle of reloading their guns. After firing their shots, the Ikko-ikki came charging across the fields toward Hugh's troops with shouts of "Renounce this defiled world and retain the pure land!", the Ikko-ikki battlecry. As they reached about 50 meters from the Irish position, Hugh yelled "Fire!", pointing his sword towards the enemy soldiers. Dozens of muskets roared, letting out a great cloud of smoke. Then, even the musket fire was drowned out as three of Irish cannons fired. The musket balls cut down about ten ikki, but it was the chain shot fired by the three cannon that caused the greatest death toll. The chains run between the two cannon balls scythed through the Japanese rebels, severing limbs and heads, and even cutting a few men in half. In total, 17 Ikki met a grisly death from the the chain shot. But their losses only seemed to instill a thirst for revenge in the ikki. As they closed in, Kennyo Kosa himself raised an Osutsu and fired a blast of shot into an Irish soldier, as a number of other ikki with osutsus fired, blasting holes in the Irish line. Those Irish rebels who had pistols with them drew their sidearms and fired at the ikki at a range of less than ten feet. Hugh himself shot down an Ikki as he tried to fire his osutsu. On both sides, men fell to bullet and pikehead, however, it was not long until even those weapons were abandoned, the surviving soldiers engaging in a brutal close-in melee with swords and, in some cases, musket butts. An Irish officer raised his pistol and shot an Ikki swordsman at near point blank range, then discarded the doglock in favor of a second, identical weapons. He never got off a shot- Kennyo Kosa himself swung his katana, slicing off the officer's pistol-hand, and then impaling him on his sword. As their soldiers clashed around them on the smoke-covered battlefield, Hugh Dubh O'Niell cut down a sohei from behind with a swung of his mortuary hilt sword, before charging at Kennyo Kosa himself. Hugh swung his blade at the Ikki leader, only for steel to strike steel as Kennyo blocked with his katana. Hugh thrust his sword forward, but Kennyo dodged the the left, and made a wide slash with his katana, which Hugh narrowly avoided. Hugh tried to slash again, and binded his sword against Kosa's as he blocked. Before he could react, however, Kosa thrust his sword forward, grinding past Hugh's and going straight into the Irishman's neck. As Kosa pulled his sword from his neck, Hugh fell to his knees, and then face down on the ground. Even without their leader, the Irish did not give their ground. Only a very few fled, the rest dying where they stood, taking about seven more Ikki with them. In the end, about 35 of the Japanese rebels remained alive. With their foes vanquished, Kosa led his men in prayer for the spirits of their departed brethren. He then returned to Ishiyama Hongan-ji to send reinforcements to the battered outpost. WINNER: Kennyo Kosa Expert's Opinion Kosa won this battle because of the combination of superior firepower, specifically the more accurate tanegashima musket and the sheer stopping power of the osutsu. Also on his side were the X-Factors of training and tenacity- having withstood a siege for ten years. Hugh's combat experience and the firepower of his cannon and chain shot were formidable, and cost Kosa many of his men, but in the end, the Buddhist rebel-monk triumphed. To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here Category:Warriors Category:Historical Warriors Category:Black Powder Warriors Category:Rebels Category:Japanese Warriors Category:Asian Warriors Category:Oriental Warriors Category:Guerilla Warriors Category:Real Warriors Category:Cults Category:Human Warriors